I think I probably rode the same 2 bikes when I visited RBWHQ last Fall... (I think the AHH I rode belonged to Keven?) I liked them both, but the Hilsen felt more refined, and for me won hands down for looks... Now, later at Riv Rally East I rode the Hillborne, and absolutely loved the way it felt.
I guess I concluded that you can't go wrong with either... If money is not a deal-breaker, my choice would be to go with the Hilsen.. it's simpy too beautiful, and I can't imagine ever second-guessing my choice... But I'd also feel great riding a Hillborne. Fortunately I don't have to make that decision (yet)... I'm really lovin my Bombadil. BB On Aug 16, 9:47 pm, Seattle Smitty <[email protected]> wrote: > I stopped at RBWHQ on a road trip with the family in April and rode a Sam > and AHH back to back. Intentionally comparing the 2... I'd been eyeing them > online and was somewhat stumped/ perplexed by the claim of the Sam as the > poor-man's Homer. Why shell out the extra dough if it's just a more > expensive version of the same bike? > > They seemed different enough to me. I'm sure some of the difference was > because of the variations in the builds (I don't remember the specific > components of the test ride bikes but the Sam was perhaps 60/40 in favor of > country riding and the Homer was 60/40 in favor of urban riding), but even > adjusting for the different builds in my mind (not quite sure how that > works), the difference of my experience riding one vs the other was enough > to me that I decided to save a few more nickels and wait until I could get a > Homer. > > It wasn't that the Sam was "bad". It was fun to ride... comfy + solid > feeling + zippy enough. I've re-test ridden the Sam at a LBS here in > Seattle that has a 60cm on the sales floor just to see if the Sam could win > me over to save the cash. I've been tempted to buy the Sam at the LBS just > 'cause it would be instant gratification, but instead a couple months back, > I put money down on a Homer from Walnut Creek. > > The Homer just seemed like a better fit for what I want in my next bike... a > zippy around town light errand runner/commuter, weekend camper, and > leisurely fun rides with the option to zip occasionally. The Homer was > noticeably crisper in handling, stiffer (in a quick + responsive sort of > way) and zippier. I'm 180lbs and don't really have aspirations of a big tour > so the increased load carrying of the Sam isn't a selling point for me. I'm > not interested to ride anything rougher than a dirt road so the big tires + > beefy tubes of Hunq/Bombadil would be overkill for me. Even if the Roadeo > came in my size I want the option to put racks on it so that's not an > option. I might have considered an Atlantis if they came off-the-shelf in my > size but again, not interested to tour. > > On top of the handling I think the Homer is a prettier bike. The blue is > gorgeous. Homer is more proportionally "normal". The head badge is cooler. I > like the Sam but I also like the Surly Cross Check. I was completely smitten > by the AHH in a way that I've never been smitten by a bike before. > > Anyway, that was my experience riding them back to back. Hope this is > useful. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
